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Taking Free Software To the Streets
An anonymous reader writes "It's that time of year again; the nights are drawing in, the leaves are beginning to turn, and literally hundreds of teams of dedicated F/OSS enthusiasts from around the world are preparing to hit the streets in celebration of Software Freedom Day 2009. In an effort to increase awareness of free and open source software among the general public, SFD teams will be standing around town centers and shopping malls, holding talks at schools and universities, giving demonstrations and handing out Linux and FOSS collections for Windows on CD. With money being tight and paranoia about malware and viruses at an all-time high, the time is right to help consumers switch to the myriad of quality open source applications available. If you would like to check for an SFD team in your area and consider attending, be it to help out or simply learn more about free software for yourself, there's an interactive map to help you find your way."
"Go away" is my reaction whenever someone on the street wants to give me something free - a religious booklet, a pro-something leaflet, a "work from home" job offer printed out on an inkjet...
On a sidenote, this would be a perfect opportunity to spread malware. Just pretend you're one of those guys and hand over CDs with some crap that will infect the computer.
It's purely coincidental that Software Freedom Day happens to also be Talk Like a Pirate Day... Right?
How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
Standing around town centres like homeless winos. That's the problem with FOSS advocates, they keep coming up with these wacky ideas, and each time they put them into action the public sees.... err, a wacky idea, associated with FOSS.
If you want to guarantee that the public forever sees FOSS as a fringe thing unworthy of the consideration of normal people then carry on. If you want to really promote FOSS set up a business based on FOSS and make it work and grow.
With paranoia about malware and viruses at an all-time high, I certainly wouldn't run a CD a stranger on the street gave to me.
Most people probably won't know what to do with it anyway and it will end up in the bin. The average person will need help installing and configuring linux.
Even if they try installing it they will end up being frustrated for not being able to get things to work. They will end up scarred by the experience and fall back to Windows.
Much better to spend their efforts educating students at universities or school. Even better to get universities and schools to convert to FOSS. This way children are forced to learn and work with FOSS. When they grow up they would be able to use the experience to promote FOSS at home/work.
So, basically, you're going to take to the streets dead set on destroying peoples' data and wasting their time? Most people have a computing solution that works for them. If they want free software, chances are they will seek it out.
For most people, this whole operation is going to be abstract, confusing, and really unfortunate if they make the mistake of putting the software onto their machines.
Remember: all that silly documentation and those help manuals were written for most users. They require that sort of thing. Most open source solutions are terribly documented It's software where you need to *just know* what's going or hit the forums or wikis. That's unacceptable. If software like OpenOffice was any good whatsoever, companies would brand it and sell the media in stores.
Adapting to a whole new software ecosystem is difficult. It's a terrible time sink that most people don't really have the social motivation for. What's so great about free software? It's free? Is Open Office better then MS Office? No? Is GIMP better than Photoshop or PSP or anything? No? Is Linux easier to use than OEM Windows or Mac? Absolutely not? Wait, why do I care about this again? What if I don't have a fanatical hatred of all things proprietary? What if I am not a freetard, but a productive member of society who needs to use the computer as a tool and not a time wasting obsession? What if I am not into "fighting the power" where "the power" is one of two large software companies that provide a framework to make my home computer usable? What if my computer were like a coffee maker for me, but for email and typing documents and browsing the web?
In short, anyone idealistic enough to run free software is already doing so.
I know this is probably flamebait, but, it seems like there is no other industry that works as hard as we do to put ourselfs out of jobs.
These guys need to advertise inside or be associated with a particular business that people are going to. Take the grocery store. At my local grocery store, the Girl Scouts often set up a table to sell their cookies. This is a brand that people trust for quality. We trust the Girl Scouts that their product is safe for us to consume. On the other hand, I often see a woman that is sitting on folding chair and when you leave the supermarket she asks you, very quietly if you want Tamales. I wouldn't take a Tamale from this woman if it was free, because I do not trust her.
The local supermarkets often have people stationed inside providing samples of various products. Usually a retiree standing in front of a table with a small griddle or toaster oven. While I have no interest in the products they are usually preparing, I would trust that they are safe. These guys should set up their table inside of computer stores (Apple Store, BestBuy etc..), atleast that could add some credibility to their product, or atleast the appearance of credibility.
On the other hand, why should I trust a random group of people on the street? Did we forget the recent incident where hackers mailed malware infected CDs to Credit Unions? The only difference is that instead of pretending the CDs come from some gov't organization, they're coming from some "OpenSource" group standing at a table on the street.
FOSS Advocate: You are allowed to get the source code and modify the software to better fit your needs. ...you also don't have to pay.
Average Joe: Lol wut!?
FOSS Advocate:
Average Joe: You mean there are programs you have to pay for!?
The good, the evil and the vacuum tubes.
For being one of the most free-software-leaning discussion sites on the internet, the level of derision here for Software Freedom day is odd.
That is an extremely encouraging, healthy, and positive sign.
The Free Software Foundation, and its' activism, both need to die if Linux is ever going to become anything more than fringe.
If Slashdot's readership are discouraging of such activism, it will hopefully gradually move us towards a point where said activism ceases to occur.
I am not saying that I think Linux advocacy should cease entirely. It does, however, need to cease being radical, cultic, and infused with as much hate, fear, and paranoia as it has been in the past. There needs to be far more focus put purely on Linux's technical strengths, and as little as possible put on the mind control of Richard Stallman.